Forum Discussion
Waiting, waiting, waiting….
Hi all, diagnosed 1st September, multifocal invasive lobular carcinoma. Surgeons appt scheduled for 17 September. Surgeon has referred me for an mri with contrast. The surgeon completed my biopsies (3) in breast screen clinic, so I’ve met her. My biggest question now is how long do you wait for the mri apointment? They acknowledge receipt of ‘urgent referral’ on 2nd of September and now it’s the 10th, they’re telling me they are waiting on ‘protocols’, my breast care nurse is wonderful and is following it up along with me, how long did you all wait? I thought I was coping not too bad, but today it all just seems really cruel……?
1 Reply
HiJ_C I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and hope you’re doing okay, the first few weeks can be a whirlwind of uncertainty. I am glad you’ve had your biopsies completed (they are tough).
Everyone’s experience is different but yes I did have at least a week to ten days wait after the initial ultrasound and biopsies before I had the contrast die MRI and other diagnostics like the PET scan.
I don’t know what could be meant by “protocols” … sorry. Maybe it’s to do with checking what subtype you have. There’s several different subtypes of breast cancer - I was ILC and a HER2 positive, oestrogen positive and progesterone positive subtype (aka Triple Positive, there’s a Group in this network) and the treatment for this was very targeted.
Sending you solidarity- the waiting and uncertainty phase you’re in was something I found to be challenging as I was worrying about re-arranging my life and workplans. Just the wait for a clear plan tested my stress levels! There’s some great podcasts that I recommend as helpful- by a psychologist who has herself had breast cancer (Charlotte Trottman) - you can find these on the BCNA resourced menu.
wishing you all the best 🌸🌻🌺
